SAN FRANCISCO โ Four months after undergoing anterior cruciate ligament surgery on his right knee, Golden State Warriors forward Jimmy Butler has predicted a high-profile return to the court once he is ultimately cleared for the upcoming season.
โIโm back to being who Iโve always been,โ Butler told ESPN. โItโs probably better if we actually talk about it. I know Iโll still be a top player when I come back. Iโve got a couple of good years left and weโll ride it until the wheels fall off.โ
Butler appeared in San Francisco last week as a featured guest at the Warriorsโ announcement of their new jersey sponsor. Following the panel, Butler spoke with ESPN about his future with the franchise and his desire to retire in a Warriors uniform.
โEnd is a bad word, but I want it done,โ Butler said. โRetire here. This is a top-tier organization. Itโs the best. Keep it. Itโs the best. Youโre playing with one of the greatest players of all time. Iโm grateful I get to witness that. I want to do my part and bring this organization back to the top where we belong.โ
The Warriors traded Butler at the February 2025 deadline. He sparked a 23โ8 record that season, leading them to the playoffs and helping them upset the second-place Houston Rockets in the first round.
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But his first playoff game with the franchise was derailed by Stephen Curryโs hamstring injury, ending their chances of beating the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round.
โIt just sucks because we were never healthy together,โ Butler said. โPart of winning is health. You didnโt see us healthy at the end of the playoffs when it mattered. Letโs be healthy, and then all these (doubts) can be heard.โ
Butlerโs second playoff appearance with the Warriors never materialized. Midway through his best stretch of the 2025-26 regular seasonโa 12-4 run by the Warriors, with Butler averaging more than 20 points per game with superb efficiencyโhis right knee buckled on a bad landing during a Jan. 19 win over the Miami Heat, tearing his ACL.
โJimmyโs injury changed everything,โ head coach Steve Kerr said.
The Warriors finished 37-45 and were eliminated from the play-in bracket, raising further questions about the short-term viability of their aging core, in part because Butler is expected to undergo knee rehab to keep him out for much of next season.
Butler will turn 37 in September. On February 9 he underwent surgery. Warriors medical director Rick Celebrini is known for his cautious approach to veterans in the late stages of rehabilitation. DeโAnthony Melton returned exactly 12 months from a torn ACL last season.
This tentative schedule for early February would be in line with early communication from general manager Mike Dunleavy, who expressed hopes of bringing Butler back for a midseason raise similar to the one Butler gave at the February 2025 deadline.
โI mean, damn, I hope itโs early in the season,โ Butler said. โI want to play as many games as possible with Steph and (Draymond Green). Thatโs the reason Joe (Lacob) and them brought me here.โ
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Butler estimated he was about six weeks away from running at full speed and said that while he was able to jump off his left foot and dive into the water, he was not yet able to transfer the weight of that landing onto his right foot. Thus, there are several months of rehabilitation ahead and several important checkpoints before a return date can be determined.
โIt will be up to Rick and the team down there,โ Butler said. โThey are incredible. Not only is Rick the best at what he does, man, he really calms my nerves. I actually have someone to talk to because he has (torn his ACL) before and has helped other people through it. Iโm not going to rush it, but I know Iโll come back ready, and I know Iโll come back better than ever. Legal.โ
Butler has both competitive and financial motivations to return to his full self. He is on an expiring $56.8 million contract that will make him an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Butler will be eligible for a contract extension on Feb. 6, almost exactly a year after ACL surgery and five days before the 2027 trade deadline.
The Warriorsโ teammates, coaches and front office executives have consistently sung Butlerโs praises since he joined the team. Behind the scenes, Dunleavy and Lacob expressed a mutual desire to keep him on the radar and rehabilitate him back into the impact forward who fits so well next to Curry.
But the Warriors also sniffed the trade market last February and are doing the same this summer, creating at least some noise that if a major trade were to happen, Butlerโs expiring contract could be the means to make it happen.
โAre you talking about being traded?โ โ Butler said. โThis wonโt be the first time. (But) itโs nice to know that Iโm wanted here. If I get traded, I get traded. Their job is to win. here, when I return, everything will be fine.โ